MovieChat Forums > The Amazing Mrs Pritchard (2006) Discussion > Masterpiece Theatre used to be a class a...

Masterpiece Theatre used to be a class act

posted 16 years ago by LCShackley
11 replies | jump to latest

Mrs. Pritchard is an OK series, but definitely lightweight compared to the great stuff that has been on MASTERPIECE THEATRE over the past few decades. These five weeks of Pritchard are the ONLY new programs MT is running this fall. Everything else is reruns.

I don't count INSPECTOR LYNLEY (which aired in September/October), even though it was good, because that was really just the old Thursday-night MYSTERY! show in disguise. PBS used to serve up TWO great hours of Brit TV every week. Then they cancelled Mystery! and occasionally plug it in on Sundays, but that's just to cover up the fact that they hardly have any decent stuff on Masterpiece Theatre anymore.

If they don't come up with some good dramas in the spring, they might as well just pull the plug on MT before everyone just stops watching. Why didn't they run "Sword of Honour" or "Dance to the Music of Time," two huge Brit miniseries based on great books? I had to buy them on DVD just to be able to see them. That's the kind of programming we've come to expect on MT, not cutesie dramas like the current offering.

IMHO, of course!

[–] angelofvic 16 years ago

I happen to be enjoying this show very much, but I agree that the British programming on PBS has waned and gone downhill. This has been since the new president of PBS (a woman; I forget her name) took office in 1999 or so. She cancelled the weekly Brit mysteries because she wanted to focus on American mysteries. (But I don't see any of those.) And yeah Masterpiece Theatre seems to be on the wane. I like the lightweight offerings they air sometimes, like Me & Mrs Jones, and "Reckless", but I also like the more literary offerings as well.

I'm very happy they aired Bleak House.

Anyway, I agree with lots of what you say. I do love this show, though. I like learning about contemporary London and up-to-the-minute British politics.

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[–] lawnsprite 16 years ago

I agree with you angel. I am a fan of this series. It reminds me of the first two seasons of West Wing. As for PBS, there hasn't been good programming for some ages.

Thank god for dvds & all region players =)

[–] angelofvic 16 years ago

Yeah. I just got my first DVD player -- which is all-region, so I'll start looking into some of those things from Britain.

Yeah, PBS is also becoming much too corporate sponsored. 15 years ago, there were no commercials or credited sponsors. Now, I saw EIGHT commercials (I'm talking actual commercials, not just blips or mentions) on one single PBS show (a cooking show).

This is too bad. Part of it I think is government spending on the arts and PBS has been drastically cut over the past 8 to 10 years. And part of it is the increased corporatization of media (and everything).

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[–] nastyrambova123 16 years ago

Both Masterpiece Theater and Mystery! were truly, excellent. I mean, Mystery! doesn't even have a host anymore; a few years back I believe they stopped production for a bit and then moved it to Saturday and really cheesed-out on some of the shows. Yes, there were some good series', but JEEZ! And Masterpiece Theater--I'm enjoying Mrs. Pritchard, but again, they've dumped the host and where are the top-of-the-line productions??? I didn't watch, "Bleak House," but I believe it won a few awards...Unfortunately, like just about everything else, something great often goes down the drain...WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

Kat Ramone

[–] angelofvic 16 years ago

Apart from the Sherlock Holmes series, which sometimes needed some explication, I've never liked having a host for Mystery! (It gives away too much, and thus is a spoiler for me.) Particularly not Diana Rigg. With all due respect for her as an actress, I didn't at all like her as a host.

Yeah, I miss Baker and Cooke as hosts, but often the fare (at least nowadays) on MT doesn't even need a host. I do believe Russell Baker announced and explained the very first episode of Bleak House, but after that first episode, it neither need nor warranted explanation -- the audience was eager for the show, not the host.

I like "Pritchard" unhosted, but if they do more Victorian stuff I hope they'll include a host if warranted.

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[–] dcarvacho 16 years ago

Starting in 2008, they will be showing adaptations of Jane Austen's books. Some will be new adaptations and others we are already familiar with. The new one's will be Mansfield Park (w/ Billy Piper as Fanny), Northanger Abbey, and Persuasion (w/ Sally Hawkins and Rupert Penry-Jones). The older adaptations are Pride and Prejudice (A&E version they showed a few years back) and Emma (w/ Kate Beckinsale). I don't know if they will show a version of Sense and Sensibility. Anyways, I hope that cheers you up. I wish they had shown these earlier, but oh well. They are showing Prime Suspect 7 and Jane Eyre prior to the Austen adaptations.

[–] kiddo318 16 years ago

Starting in 2008 Masterpiece Theatre will go to a new format (with host). It will be broken down into Masterpiece Theatre Contemporary (in the autumn) Masterpiece Theatre (adaptations of books like the upcoming Austen's, which will indeed have a new Sense and Sensibility) and Masterpiece Theatre Mystery, which will air in the summers as Mystery! does now.

I don't love everything on MT, but PBS and MT beats commercial television every time. By the way, there has not been a corporate sponsor for MT since ExxonMobile pulled out several years ago.

At my office, we have Monday morning "water cooler" conversations about MT all of the time. We all loved "Jane Eyre," "Prime Suspect," "Bleak House" and cannot wait for all of the Austen adapatations to begin.

[–] LCShackley 16 years ago

Billie Piper? The Cockney assistant to Dr. Who? Playing in Jane Austen?? Now I feel like *I* am in a Dr. Who episode!

[–] candypantz 16 years ago

Masterpiece Theatre Used to be very dry and boring, video taped live performances of shakespeare.

[–] LCShackley 16 years ago

I'll have to beg to differ with you there. Shakespeare has actually been very rare on MT. You're more likely to find Austen, James, or Wodehouse. Here's a complete chronological listing of all 35 years:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/archive/programs_season.html

[–] caledoniaLass 12 years ago

I think you're confusing PBS' Great Performances with Masterpiece Theater. IIRC the only Shakespeare on MT have been two Brannagh films which were also shown in movie theaters.